$250 MAME Cabinet

[armowarrior]

I know this isnt as fancy as your projects but I build this on an extreme budget. This was the kids Christmas present (we have 5 little ones) and they love it!
Thanks for to all the helpful resources on this forums and specially the help of Youki  (Atomic FE). Now they can play their games , watch movies and have dance parties on their room
I wish I could have made it nicer but there is so much you can do with $250 and a bunch of salvaged lumber. Everything else came from resale stores.

[brihyn]

If your kids have fun with it and it makes them smile then I can't imagine much else matters!

[wirenut]

Only $250? 

I'd say well done!

[rablack97]

I think you were trying to do this....

[jongunz]

You got a lot more out of $250 than I could have.

[armowarrior]

I think you were trying to do this....

Thanks for correcting that.

The kids are having a blast non stop since Xmas. Im getting great feedback Will invest in a proper cabinet with real controls in a few months

[EMDB]

Can you list all parts with their costs? Most of these budget builds contain lots of donated stuff which give a false  impression of the actual total costs...

[danny_galaga]

Can you list all parts with their costs? Most of these budget builds contain lots of donated stuff which give a false  impression of the actual total costs...

If it has donated parts, it has donated parts. Total cost for him was $250, and that's great!

[EMDB]

Can you list all parts with their costs? Most of these budget builds contain lots of donated stuff which give a false  impression of the actual total costs...

If it has donated parts, it has donated parts. Total cost for him was $250, and that's great!

But than it still is not a $250 MAME cabinet. It will make new users think you can build a MAME cabinet for $250 and we all know you can't...

[Le Chuck]

Can you list all parts with their costs? Most of these budget builds contain lots of donated stuff which give a false  impression of the actual total costs...

If it has donated parts, it has donated parts. Total cost for him was $250, and that's great!

But than it still is not a $250 MAME cabinet. It will make new users think you can build a MAME cabinet for $250 and we all know you can't...

Yeah you can.  It might not be the most gorgeous cab in the world but you can build a very FUNctional bartop using no donated parts for well under 200.  How would you know you can't?

[Nephasth]

But than it still is not a $250 MAME cabinet. It will make new users think you can build a MAME cabinet for $250 and we all know you can't...

Negative Nancy

[danny_galaga]

Can you list all parts with their costs? Most of these budget builds contain lots of donated stuff which give a false  impression of the actual total costs...

If it has donated parts, it has donated parts. Total cost for him was $250, and that's great!

But than it still is not a $250 MAME cabinet. It will make new users think you can build a MAME cabinet for $250 and we all know you can't...

Yes, you're right. Because they are going for $395 at Walmart...

A MAME cab is a pretty loose term. It cost him $250. So it is a $250 cabinet. A lot of people make their cabs with donated/scrounged parts. It's part of the fun. My own ended up with pretty much new everything, and so cost over $1000. Is that the 'standard' price then?

[armowarrior]

Flat screen crt tv goodwill $20
Madcatz n64 arcade controller Resale store $10 and $3
sega saturn arcade controllers $9 each (x2) amazon
Sega saturn to usb adapter $5 amazon
N64 to usb (already had one ) $5 ebay
usb keyboards (x2) resale store $5
relay for the music controlled ac light circuit (local electronic store) $19
String lights (donated facebook post)
paint (donated facebook post)
cabinet from resale store (3/4"plywood) book shelve  $10
rest of the lumber and electrical parts from over the years construction work left overs
random hardware $35
computer tower $25 resale store
video card with  svideo out $30 ebay
gamer magazines donated (facebook post)
strobe lights already had them one from my firefighter car one you can get for $9.99 at home depot
plexiglass for marquee from an old plexi atx case
spray paint and masking tape $15
gas spent driving around $25
Disco Ball found in attic
Extension cords $10
Modge Podge donated
Buying another relay when I wired the first one wrong and fried it  $22
Revolving 9v light  already had it $9.99 at home depot
power adapters for converting lights to ac $5
Big game hunter sensor bar (converted to ac with adapter) for light gun option already had one $10.00 ebay

TOTAL $257

Forgot to add .
OPTiONAL
 Racing wheel and pedals(logitech driving force gt) $9.99 used
drawer hinges to make the wheel adjustable $10.99 Home Depot (already had)
speakers and amp $15 Big lots (optional you can use tv speakers)

Now that I think about it a lot of this is optional , if you make an arcade without the driving wheel , pc games lighting system (for the jukebox) and 2 controllers instead of 4 it could have been a lot cheaper. This thing is massive but there is plenty of room for my kids to play 4 player games.  Also I used some Wiimotes as lightguns and which I converted to ac power so I had to buy adapters and cords for them , but like I said thats optional. In theory i could have built this for $200 bargain hunting and being resourceful

[jammin0]

Awesome job.  I feel like the #1 money saver is if you are willing to play around and hack your electronics instead of paying for the "easy" components.

The following save tons:
padhacks
lighting hacks
diy smart surge protector
solder instead of using connectors
use scrap wire instead of new
buy used instead of new - On two different builds of mine, one for me and one for a friend, I bought broken LCDs and we swapped out capacitors and had working screens for under $10-15 instead of $100.  Definitely not the easiest route but if money is tight then it makes lots of sense.  I think the hobby is different for everyone.  Some people would rather buy a kit for hundreds of dollars and slap in new PC components and encoders but they are in the hobby for slightly different reasons than the person trying to eek out the coolest possible cab for the cheapest price.

[armowarrior]

Awesome job.  I feel like the #1 money saver is if you are willing to play around and hack your electronics instead of paying for the "easy" components.

The following save tons:
padhacks
lighting hacks
diy smart surge protector
solder instead of using connectors
use scrap wire instead of new
buy used instead of new - On two different builds of mine, one for me and one for a friend, I bought broken LCDs and we swapped out capacitors and had working screens for under $10-15 instead of $100.  Definitely not the easiest route but if money is tight then it makes lots of sense.  I think the hobby is different for everyone.  Some people would rather buy a kit for hundreds of dollars and slap in new PC components and encoders but they are in the hobby for slightly different reasons than the person trying to eek out the coolest possible cab for the cheapest price.

You are correct I did all of the above